Salmon Noodle taps FCN to turn ramen into a gallery-led brand experience

Salmon Noodle 3.0 Halal Label, a premium halal ramen concept created by Michelin-starred chef Shota Saka, has tapped Future Creative Network, through its brand strategy consultancy Think of View (TOV), to reposition halal ramen as “edible art” and build a gallery-inspired flagship at Pacific Place Jakarta.

In an F&B market increasingly defined by speed, turnover and visual immediacy, the collaboration signals a deliberate shift away from transactional dining towards a slower, culturally anchored experience – one where brand narrative, spatial design and the dining journey operate as a single cohesive system.

“It was crafted with the same intention you would find in artwork. That became our strategic anchor: if the dish is art, then the dining experience must feel like entering a gallery,” said Maria Angelica, founder of TOV, in a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. “This is what ultimately sets Salmon Noodle 3.0 apart. It doesn’t compete within the mass ramen category, it reframes how ramen itself can be perceived and experienced.”

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From tagline to total brand system

This thinking evolved into a core idea: “Edible art that restores the human senses.” Rather than treating the line as a campaign platform, TOV embedded it as a strategic foundation shaping spatial language, guest movement and the rhythm of the dining journey.

In this system, branding is not confined to logo or communications. It unfolds across time, space and ritual. The flagship outlet at Pacific Place Jakarta has been conceived less as a conventional dining space and more as a gallery environment within the pace of the city.

Guests move through a curated sequence of installations that introduce the bowl as canvas, ramen’s origins as restorative food, and culinary technique as theatrical expression. Space is not a backdrop; it functions as a silent narrator, guiding attention and preparing the senses.

TOV led the development of the logo, visual identity and brand expressions as a single cohesive system. From positioning through to on-ground execution, every touchpoint is designed to serve one point of view.

A flagship as brand manifesto

For the Salmon Noodle 3.0 Halal Label team, the gallery concept was not an embellishment, but a statement of intent.

“We believe it is important to introduce a flagship store that functions not only as a restaurant, but as a clear brand statement, something memorable and distinctive for our customers. We see Pacific Place as the ideal setting to bring this vision to life,” said Gamma Akbar, CMO of Salmon Noodle 3.0 Halal Label Indonesia.

The brand positions itself at the intersection of Japanese ramen tradition and French culinary technique, created by Saka. The ambition is to elevate comfort food into a premium dining experience without losing its emotional core.

“Our vision is to elevate comfort food, executed with French techniques and delivered through a premium dining experience. The art gallery-like approach reflects how we view ramen: not merely as a dish, but as a composition of flavours, textures, and presentation that deserves to be appreciated like a work of art,” Akbar said.

Differentiation, however, is framed less as novelty and more as execution.

“There are very few French ramen restaurants that embrace this approach. However, for us, differentiation is not simply about who introduces a concept first, but about the quality of execution. Every artwork and spatial element is carefully curated to remain consistent with our identity as a ramen restaurant with seafood as our core ingredient,” added Akbar.

End-to-end experience as competitive edge

For TOV, the Salmon Noodle 3.0 Halal Label project reinforces its positioning as a strategic partner capable of translating brand narrative into spatial and experiential systems.

Rather than treating identity, environment and service as separate workstreams, the consultancy builds them as a unified framework – where every visual, spatial and experiential decision reinforces the same narrative intent.

The narrative extends to the plate. From the opening appetiser as a prelude to the calibrated balance of broth, texture and technique in each bowl, every element contributes to a composed experience. Food serves as the vehicle for craftsmanship, discipline and respect for process, TOV said.

In a market saturated with fast-casual concepts and visually driven launches, Salmon Noodle 3.0 Halal Label offers a slower proposition: one where food is not simply consumed, but contemplated.

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